'Premam' director Alphonse Puthren reveals Dulquer Salmaan was 1st choice for the film

Alphonse Puthren, in a recent media interview, revealed that he initially wanted to cast Dulquer Salmaan instead of Nivin Pauly in his 2015 hit movie Premam. However, his off-screen camaraderie with Nivin Pauly forced him to do otherwise. The interview that had Alphonse Puthren discussing movies had him confess that he was comfortable working with Nivin Pauly as he understands his process and works in adherence to that. Alphonse Puthren made his directorial debut with Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim starrer Neram. Alphonse also exclaimed that he would work with Dulquer Salmaan at the right time. 

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Premam, starring Nivin Pauly, Anupama Parameswaran, Sai Pallavi, and Madonna Sebastian in the lead, narrates three phases of George's (Nivin Pauly) life. The Alphonse Puthren directorial that released in 2015 won rave reviews from the audience. Premam was produced by Anwar Rasheed under his banner Anwar Rasheed Entertainments. The Alphonse Puthren directorial was remade in Telugu with Naga Chaitanya and Shruti Haasan in the lead. 

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Meanwhile, Alphonse Puthren seems to be on a hiatus as the director has not announced any project since Premam. Talking about his forthcoming movies, Alphonse said that he was supposed to start work on a bi-lingual with Mammootty and Arun Vijay in the lead. However, the film got shelved due to its budget. He revealed that the movie was supposed to be made on a large scale, so the budget was about Rs. 15 crores. 

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On the other hand, Dulquer Salmaan was last seen in Anoop Sathyan's debut directorial Varane Avasyamund. The movie, starring Shobana, Suresh Gopi, Kalyani Priyadarshan, and Dulquer Salmaan in the lead, narrates the trials and tribulations of a mother and daughter. The movie released pre-lockdown was declared a hit and reportedly earned about Rs. 17 crores at the domestic circuit and a total of Rs. 31 crores at the box office. 

What's next for Dulquer Salmaan? 

On the work front, Dulquer Salmaan will be next seen in Hey Sinamika. The upcomer will mark the directorial debut of popular choreographer Brinda. The movie that stars Dulquer Salmaan, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead, interestingly got its title from Dulquer Salmaan's Tamil movie OK Kanmani's song- Aye Sinamika. The forthcoming movie is currently in pre-production and will soon go on floors. The upcomer is produced by Jio Studios in association with Global One.